The first suspected ‘generation-three’ hantavirus case has emerged, potentially signifying the first stage of a much wider outbreak of the deadly rat-borne disease.
Samples from a quarantined Italian man have been sent to an infectious diseases hospital for testing after he boarded a Dutch KLM flight alongside a woman who later died from hantavirus.
So far, no cases have been confirmed in people who were not on board the MV Hondius, so there is no evidence that the virus has spread beyond the confines of the ship.
However, if the 25-year-old from the southern region of Calabria tests positive, it will prove the disease is a lot more contagious – and far less contained – than previously thought.
The man, alongside three other Italians, had been placed in quarantine after boarding the flight from Johannesburg to Amsterdam on April 25.
Authorities were concerned that they may have been infected by the presence of Miriam Schilperoord, a 69-year-old passenger of the cruise who was ultimately asked to leave the flight because she was so ill.
On April 26, she died upon arrival at the emergency department of Johannesburg hospital from hantavirus, 15 days after the death of her husband, 70-year-old Leo Schilperoord, also known as ‘patient zero’.
It comes as French health minister Stephanie Rist admitted there are still things we don’t know about the killer virus, including whether it has mutated.